My sister told my parents i dropped out of medical…

crime I never committed.

Two weeks later, the envelope appeared in my apartment mailbox. The postmark was smeared. My mother’s sharp, angled handwriting slashed across the front.

Returned to sender unopened.

I held the envelope in my hands for a few seconds. I felt a brief, hollow ache in my chest, but it faded almost instantly. I struck a match over continue reading …